Chapter 34 Contraceptive Soup 2 Divorce or Take a Concubine
When she heard "yes", Xu was so angry that she almost suffocated.
This is too much. The new daughter-in-law married into the family has no intention of having children and even openly admits that she drinks contraceptive soup every day. This is really outrageous.
She stood up from the armchair, and because she stood up too quickly, her body swayed weakly.
Nanny Han immediately stepped forward and helped her.
Xu asked coldly, "If you don't want to have children, why do you want to get married?"
Su He also became angry for a moment: "In my mother's eyes, is marriage just for the sake of having children?"
"It's natural for family bloodlines to be passed down this way."
Su He lowered his head, speechless.
Xu was still relentless, "You should have rejected this marriage proposal."
Su He sneered in her heart, thinking that the old lady thought too highly of her.
She sighed: "My daughter-in-law is just a girl in the harem, she doesn't have the courage to disobey the imperial edict."
The old lady looked Su He up and down. "I didn't realize before, but you have such a sharp tongue."
Su He replied, "I dare not hide anything from my mother. I am just telling the truth."
"Okay, it's okay if you don't have children."
The old lady seemed to relax and said, "But there is one condition: Ziyu must take a concubine, and she will provide the Xie family with a long line of descendants."
Su He answered simply, "I have never objected to my husband taking a concubine, but it would be best if my mother could personally persuade him."
"You mean, you don't want to show up?"
"My daughter-in-law tried her best last time, but my mother knew it wasn't successful."
Xu was so angry that she threw the teacup on the table.
There was a loud "bang" and everyone in the room was startled.
The teacup broke and the tea spilled all over the floor.
The old lady gnashed her teeth and said sternly, "I'm making this clear today. Ziyu must either divorce his wife or take a concubine. If he dares not, I will hang myself from the beams of your Chunhua Courtyard with a piece of white silk."
Su He was silent, with nothing to say.
Zhang Qian'er was secretly delighted and secretly rolled her eyes at Su He.
Xu calmed down, but still felt unsatisfied: "Don't stand there for me. You disobeyed your superiors today, which is unfilial. Go to the Buddhist temple to reflect on your mistakes. You will be punished by copying Buddhist scriptures one hundred times."
Su He bowed and said, "Your daughter-in-law will follow your mother's wishes."
It’s just copying Buddhist scriptures, no big deal.
She had even been beaten when she served Li Shuli before, so copying Buddhist scriptures was just a drop in the bucket.
Then she followed Nanny Han to the Buddhist temple behind the house.
Zhang Xiuhua couldn't bear to see Su He suffer any injustice.
She slipped back to Chunhua Courtyard and called Ah Si: "Hurry up and go to the Dali Temple to inform the son-in-law that the young mistress was punished by the old lady to copy Buddhist scriptures."
Ah Si received the order and rushed out of the house.
At this time, Dali Temple.
Liu Dabao has been summoned to the interrogation room.
Looking up, I saw torture instruments piled up on the walls of the room, and a red-hot iron stuck in the charcoal stove in the middle.
Liu Dabao felt heavy in his heart, but he managed to keep his composure. He knelt before Xie Wuhen, who was sitting on the imperial chair, and said, "I pay my respects to the Shaoqing."
Xie Wuhen had a blank expression on his face: "Do you know why I summoned you?"
Liu Dabao replied: "Don't you know?"
"Then do you know that Du Yuting was murdered?"
"I learned about it when I was on duty at the Du family today."
Xie Wuhen leaned closer to him, his low voice carrying an intimidating tone: "I heard that you were often abused and beaten by Du Yuting. Now that he has been killed, you should feel very happy, right?"
Liu Dabao trembled with fear: "I dare not. I rely on Master Du for my livelihood. How dare I have such a treasonous thought?"
Xie Wuhen sat up straight again, his tone meaningful: "But according to my investigation, Master Du was most likely killed by a resentful servant, and you, Liu Dabao, definitely had this motive."
Liu Dabao was so frightened that he kowtowed desperately, begging for mercy as he kowtowed: "I am innocent. I have never resented Master Du, let alone wanted to kill him. Yesterday, I was at home taking care of my mother. The neighbors can all testify to this. I hope you will investigate it."
Xie Wuhen said sarcastically: "Neighbors can't always keep an eye on you."
Liu Dabao was so frightened that he started to cry: "Even if I had the courage of a hundred leopards, I would not dare to do such a thing. I hope you will investigate this matter, I hope you will investigate this matter."
Xie Wuhen smiled and suddenly changed his tone to a nonchalant one: "Actually, this matter is also very simple. You just need to tell me which servants of the Du family have grudges against Master Du, and you can easily get rid of suspicion."
Finally, he added, "If the clues you provide are valid, I might even be able to give you a certain reward."
Only then did Liu Dabao suddenly realize that this Shaoqing was using both kindness and force just to trick him into talking, just to make him speak without leaving any room for hesitation.
He bowed again. "I have only been in the Du family for a short time. On weekdays, I only make tea and drinks for Master Du. I have never had much contact with the other servants in the mansion. Therefore... I don't know which servants in the Du family would resent Master Du."
Xie Wuhen was a little disappointed, but he remained quite restrained. "You don't have to rush to give me an answer now. Think about it carefully when you go back. And remember, your name is still on my list."
The last sentence still carried a threatening tone.
Liu Dabao took a deep breath, said "Thank you, sir", and then hurriedly left the Dali Temple.
Wu Sheng asked, "Boss, do you think this person is suspicious?"
Xie Wuhen shook his head: "It's not easy to remain calm in the face of danger, but he is not the murderer."
He stood up and walked out, saying as he walked, "Keep looking through the Du family's market tickets. Maybe we can find the murderer soon."
But as soon as he reached the public housing, he saw Ah Si being stopped outside the door by the guards.
Xie Wuhen waved to the guard, and the guard let Ah Si in.
Ah Si was running out of breath and sweat was dripping from his head.
He didn't care about anything else for a moment and said, "Son-in-law, something happened at home."
Xie Wuhen paused: "What happened?"
Ah Si replied, "Young Madam was suddenly summoned to the Buddhist temple by the old lady today and was punished to copy Buddhist scriptures."
Xie Wuhen concentrated for a moment, then turned and walked out of the house, ordering as he walked: "Prepare the car and return home."
Wu Sheng was unable to react in time and caught up half a beat late, yelling, "Boss, why are you in such a hurry? It's just copying scriptures, it won't hurt the young lady."
Xie Wuhen didn't bother to pay attention to him and got on the carriage directly.
It was already dusk when we arrived at the mansion.
Xu Nanzhi was having dinner in the main courtyard, accompanied by Zhang Qianer. Even Nanny Han and Mei Zi made an exception and sat at the table.
This was the happy scene that Xie Wuhen saw when he entered the courtyard.
His face was grim as he strode into the house.
Xu quickly greeted, "Ziyu is here. He hasn't had dinner yet, has he? Come on, Nanny Han, bring Ziyu a set of bowls and chopsticks."
Nanny Han put on a smile and said, "I will go get the dishes and chopsticks right away. Master, please wait a moment."
Zhang Qian'er also hurriedly made room for a seat beside her: "Brother Ziyu, please sit here."
Only Mei Zi stood up tremblingly and stood in the corner nearby.
Xie Wuhen ignored everyone and asked after looking around, "Where's my wife?"
Xu evaded the main point and said, "Shuli is in the Buddhist temple. Don't worry, I have sent someone to bring her food. She won't starve."
Xie Wuhen picked up a chair casually and placed it on the open space in the room with a bang.
The loud "bang" made the atmosphere in the room fall into dead silence in an instant.
Nanny Han, who had just brought the bowl and chopsticks, also stood at the table in a daze, at a loss for what to do.
Xie Wuhen bent down and sat down, staring at Xu with a solemn face. "May I ask, mother, why did you punish my wife by making her copy Buddhist scriptures?"
Xu was stunned for a moment, then sneered, "The servants at Chunhua Courtyard are quite quick. They tipped you off so quickly?"
He raised his voice and pressed the issue again, "Excuse me, mother, why did you punish my wife by making her copy Buddhist scriptures?"
Xu was embarrassed by her son's public questioning and lost her temper. "Why, as a mother-in-law, I punished my daughter-in-law by making her copy some Buddhist scriptures. Is this against the rules of heaven?"
Zhang Qian'er also stepped in to smooth things over: "Brother Ziyu, you don't know, the young lady's attitude towards the eldest aunt today was too domineering. The eldest aunt had no choice but to want to punish her a little. It's just copying Buddhist scriptures, actually..."
"Shut up." Xie Wuhen shouted, "It's not your turn as an outsider to interfere in the affairs of my Xie family."
The word "outsider" was really hurtful. Zhang Qian'er suddenly stopped talking and tears fell down.
"Why are you bullying Qian'er if you don't have anything to do?" Mrs. Xu became even more furious. "Okay, I'll tell you why I'm punishing your wife by making her copy Buddhist scriptures."
She turned around, grabbed the medicine residue on the table next to her, and threw it onto the ground. "Zi Yu, look carefully! This is the residue from the contraceptive soup. Your wife, Li Shuli, drank the contraceptive soup in Chunhua Courtyard. Did you know about this? She has no intention of bearing children for you, nor does she intend to continue the Xie family's lineage. Did you know about this? The three unfilial acts are not having descendants, and the worst is not having descendants. As the head of the family and your mother, isn't it right for me to punish her? Isn't it right? Today, I'm going to tell you everything. She must copy the Buddhist scriptures one hundred times."
Xie Wuhen looked at the medicine residue scattered on the ground and was a little dazed for a moment.
He had no idea she was taking contraceptive medication, and he hadn't even asked her about her thoughts on having a child.
He just felt inexplicably lost and even a little sad.
As for why he felt lost and sad, he couldn't explain it clearly.
Xie Wuhen was silent for a moment, then he said loudly: "I was the one who asked my wife to take the contraceptive soup. What? Can't I make the decision on this matter?"
Xu frowned: "Zi Yu, what are you talking about?"
"I don't want my wife to suffer the pain of childbirth." Xu shouted, "You are making trouble."
"This is a matter between my wife and me, mother, don't worry about it."
"Do you really want to make the Xie family's eldest branch extinct?"
Xie Wuhen's expression remained unchanged, and his tone was firm: "I never thought of letting my mother get what she wanted."
Xu was so angry that she held her chest tightly and couldn't breathe for a while.
Nanny Han hurried forward to pat her master on the back to appease him, and she couldn't help but say a few words of advice: "Master, the old lady is old, so please be quiet."
Xu waved her hand and finally recovered her breath. "Don't waste your words on him. He has always been like this."
Then he looked at his son and said, "Okay, I understand you don't want your wife to suffer the pain of childbirth, but there is one condition: you must take a concubine. Today, while Miss Qian'er is here, I will take her in for you. After all, she is devoted to you and has waited for you for so many years. Having her to continue the Xie family's lineage is perfect."
Zhang Qian'er, who was standing by, was secretly twisting the handkerchief in her hand, feeling both nervous and expectant.
"Perfect?" Xie Wuhen snorted coldly, "A woman who stirs up trouble and gossips like this time and again makes me feel sick. If you want to enter my main room, dream on."
Zhang Qianer's face turned pale in an instant.
She only knew that Brother Zi Yu was cold-hearted and taciturn, but she never thought that Brother Zi Yu would insult her in public and even say that she was disgusting.
Her tears could not stop flowing: "Brother Ziyu, how could you say that to me?"
Xie Wuhen's heart was even crueler than she thought: "Zhang Qian'er, I warn you, if you dare to step into the gate of my mansion again, I will drive you out of the capital and send you back to your hometown."
Then he looked at Mei Zi in the corner and said, "You got these medicine residues from Chunhua Courtyard, right? For Nanny Han's sake, I'll spare you this time. But if you dare to set foot in Chunhua Courtyard again, I will sell you out immediately."
Mei Zi fell to her knees with a plop, trembling, not even daring to beg for mercy.
Nanny Han next to her also looked pale in an instant.
Xu was scolding him: "You ungrateful thing, you damned unfilial son..."
Xie Wuhen had no time to pay attention to anyone else. He stood up and strode towards the back of the house.
Xu asked sharply, "What are you going to do?"
Xie Wuhen replied: "Go to the Buddhist temple to pick up my wife."
From behind came Xu's continuous abuse: "Asshole, damn it..."
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